The Prince and the Dragon

The two most unpleasant personalities in the world may have just met their match. An unusual look at an unlikely romance.

Prince Barrett strays into the Woodland Maze, a forbidden place to humans, and is carried off to the Dragon’s mountain lair. Will the King pay a ransom for his first born and heir or will the Dragon win?

Excerpt:

Prince Barrett looked every inch a man of imposing birth. He was easily recognizable by his great face, superb body and, unfortunately, a very bad attitude about life in general. Today he was in a particular bad mood and the only thing that he felt might possibly make him feel a bit better about life would be a long dip in the Woodland Maze Lake located in the grove, which was forbidden to humans. The Prince considered himself above mere mortals. He was Prince of the realm by divine right and therefore nothing could be denied him. Woodland Maze was part of his father’s realm and therefore his to enter whenever he pleased. He was wrong.

The Prince walked to the edge of the lake. He had vague memories of having been there as a child, and since he still lived he assumed it was because of his father the king. The beautiful shimmering lake was so clear you could see right to the bottom. The sun’s rays reflected off of the surface like diamonds and Barrett felt comforted in its presence. If anything could humble the Prince, it was being in the presence of such inviting beauty created by the gods themselves. Prince Barrett didn’t believe in the gods or any one god. He only believed in the power of his throne and how whoever sat upon it could be denied nothing.

He undressed, and then stood under the sun as it blazed gloriously against his sculpted body. It was only after he had spent a few moments gazing at his reflection in the lake that he looked up to see the Dragon. The sight incensed him. He didn’t much like being spied on. Obviously the Prince leaped to the conclusion that the Dragon must be some freakish voyeur instead of the caretaker of the Maze. Being brought up sheltered in the palace he knew precious little of the evil power of Dragons, so when he came upon his first Dragon he was not afraid but rude and defiant.

“Hey! You! Get your ugly grayish-green ass off of my lake. I am Prince Barrett, so fucking move on!” As he spoke he twirled his waist-length brown hair into a braid and let it fall down his back. When the Dragon did not respond the Prince came eye to eye with him, arched his eyebrow and walked slowly toward the lake. The Prince also had a very foul mouth to go with his temperament. The Dragon puffed out his chest and steam issued from his nostrils. He spoke in a booming voice.

“What?! You did not just call me names, use foul language, and place your nasty human feet toward the direction of the lake of Woodland Maze. Certainly you are aware that your kind is forbidden outright.” The Dragon took his position of caretaker quite seriously, as the Prince was about to find out. The Prince was as equally outraged.

“Nothing is forbidden to me. Haven’t you fucking heard what I said? I am the goddamned fucking Prince Barrett. I am a descendant of the greatest rulers in the world, and my father is the King of this grove and all other lands neighboring it. And when he dies it all goes to me, his son. Now that I’ve shared my life with you get the fuck out of my grove.” The handsome Prince gave a haughty toss of his Princely braid and prepared to immerse himself into the cool lake. The Dragon gave pause as the haughty but beautiful in face and body, heir to the throne, marched into the water.